Disruptors of the State’s Educational Monopoly

Since the advent of public education, the state has had a monopoly on accessible K-12 education. However, the monopolistic nature of their situation let them to seek rent in several ways that greatly damaged their ability to sustain such a powerful role. Although private schools served as a competitor for more wealthy students, for most normal people there was no real option but public schools. Additionally, the quality and local control of public schools allowed them to serve students and parents in a way that did not instantly create dissatisfaction. People with a wide range of political and religious beliefs felt at home in the public schools, but the great shift towards specific ideological alignment along with a dehumanizing pedagogical environment created a real demand for alternative methods of education. Homeschooling began as a costly act of rebellion for those who simply felt as though the schools had no place for them. Charter schools undercut the public schools’ vast inefficiency and showed that less bureaucracy and centralized control could allow for better learning outcomes at lower cost. More recently, extremely affordable private schools that disrupt the traditional “five day in classroom” model have been able to achieve this student development at far lower costs than either public or charter schools, all well benefiting from far fewer returns to scale.

Homeschooling was seen as extremely radical when it first began because in most situations, the public schools still seemed generally functioning. The rigorous ideological purity tests of today were not required, but even then, as the surface functioned, the theoretical layer was already in a place that would later destroy public education. Some parents could sense this, and they avoided public schools even when they risked social ostracization and they had access to far fewer resources than homeschoolers today. Well, there are many free or affordable online learning resources available to homeschoolers in the 21st century, resources specifically for homeschoolers were almost nonexistent in the 1970s and 80s. Because it required at least one parent to not work during school hours, homeschooling was a large financial burden that was borne precisely because the state’s monopolistic tendencies had drifted too far. The quality and type of education that the state sought to provide were both far from ideal. The extraordinary efforts of early homeschoolers serve as a reminder that even the most well funded monopoly will inevitably fail to serve a part of its customer base.

As homeschooling was gaining momentum in the 70s and 80s, the framework of the charter school movement was being laid. In the early 1990s, charter schools began to emerge, and by 2000 they had become fairly common. They arose from dissatisfaction with the current public school system and sought to provide a higher level of accountability and freedom to state funded schools. Rather than teaching a standardized curriculum with union teachers, they had the ability to choose their own curriculum and try different methods to increase student success. They had significantly less funding than public schools per student, but they were able to provide better outcomes, most notably for urban and traditionally underserved students. The students who needed education the most were able to find far better results from charter schools than the public school model that was so promoted by fans of government control. While public school supporters complain that they don’t have access to enough funding, charter schools provide a clear counterargument that funding is not the issue. While not truly operating in a free market, charter schools take a step towards freedom and thus achieve better results by returning real choice to parents and teachers.

More recently, an agile and cost-effective form of private schools has begun to emerge. These schools combine hybrid learning options with far more parent engagement than K-12 models of the past. They cut costs through not forcing students and teachers to be in a classroom five days a week and shifting some of the burden onto parents. For many parents, they have more energy to give in terms of education than they have money. These schools are extremely effective at serving students’ needs by allowing parents an unprecedented amount of choice. They allow students to take classes through community college, charter schools, and online providers when it works for the student. This educational model recognizes the reality that each student is fundamentally different and should ideally become even more different as they are formed on a path of exploration and discovery that is uniquely their own.